By Hannah Gonzalez
Fordham’s university-affiliated publishing house Fordham University Press has survived the wave of recent closures and financial difficulties assailing the academic publishing industry. Fredric Nachbaur, director of the press, stated that the institution will look to future collaborations with university departments, as well as to books geared toward a wider readership, as it continues to adapt to the changing landscape of the industry.
Known for publications in the areas of the humanities and social sciences, the press has garnered awards from associations like the Modern Languages Association, and its published works have been reviewed in mainstream publications including the New York Times and the London Review of Books.
The success of the press serves as a marketing tool for the university, according to Nachbaur.
“I think the press is a very strong asset for the university, because we support the mission of the university, and that’s strongly represented by the books that we publish,” said Nachbaur.
The press currently publishes 80 books a year. However, due to the resource intensiveness of this publishing schedule, Nachbaur said the press will cap their publications at 70 a year in the coming seasons.
“It’s a lot of resources, both staffing and budget,” said Nachbaur. “So we’re trying to balance a little bit and bring it down to 35 a season, so we could accomplish 70.”
The press’s publications are bolstered by the support of departments on campus, a relationship which Nachbaur said he hopes to continue to strengthen going forward. The press currently works on a series with the McGannon Center of communications and media studies, as well as a series on Catholic practice in North America. Recently, the press has also received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant of over $81,000 to digitize hard-to-find American philosophy books. The press will be working with both the library and the philosophy department to compile backlist titles for those of significance to today’s scholarly community.
“Those collaborations are ways to cement the Fordham University Press’s place within the institution itself,” said Nachbaur. “I think that’s important.”
Nachbaur stated that the recent closures of university presses are unfortunate, as presses not only disseminate scholarship but also help scholars in their applications for tenure-track positions.
“Part of our goal is to help young scholars get tenure, and these books published help them during their tenure review,” said Nachbaur. “So, you know, that the less opportunities that exist for them, it’s a detriment.”
Yet, he stated, the future of the academic press industry is not all “doom and gloom.” Recent openings of presses, such as the University Press of Cincinnati and the changing platforms of publication point to a robust future for publishing.
“There is some good news out there as well,” said Nachbaur. “Thinking about how you publish work, being creative. There’s the digital initiatives and open access as well. ”
The Fordham press is strong in the area of digital publishing, as every book is published in both print and digital formats, according to Nachbaur. Open access, on the other hand, while popular in the sciences, can be difficult to apply to the realm of the humanities. Nachbaur stated that publishing a book for free digitally does nothing to offset the cost of the publication process.
“The humanities is trying to figure out how to make it happen, because it’s kind of a difficult situation where there’s a lot of money associated with producing a book,” said Nachbaur. “The e-book sales helped to offset those costs. To make it totally open access, you’re not getting any kind of money for those costs.”
The Fordham press is funded by a combination of its own revenue and financial support from the university. As a privately-funded, not-for-profit organization, the press has avoided the problems that may befall state-funded university presses, like the University of Kentucky press. This state-funded publisher recently received a cut in funding, leaving its future uncertain.
“We’re funded by the administration, though we’re a unique operation because we sell our books,” said Nachbaur. “We cover a lot of the expenses for producing the books.”
The economics of university publishing can prove difficult according to Professor Albert Greco, an expert in field of publishing.
“For every 10 books published, two break even, seven lose money and one’s a hit,” said Greco.
These economic issues are compounded by the underpricing of books by university presses. Presses cut prices in order to promote their mission—the publication and dissemination of scholarly work, according to Greco. Because of this, a book published by a university press is sold for less than an equivalent book by a trade book publisher.
“University presses are important in the transmission of ideas and culture,” said Greco. “The problem is it’s a tough economic environment.”
Going forward, the Fordham University Press is looking to increase their publication of general interest books to expand readership beyond the scholarly community.
The press currently publishes the Empire State Editions Imprint, a line which centers on the history and diversity of New York City. Because books published under this label are sold on Amazon as well as in traditional bookstore, they tend to sell better than the press’s scholarly titles, according to Nachbaur.
“We want to make sure we have the right balance,” said Nachbaur. “Not too many narrowly-focused scholarly books that have a limited audience, hence limited sales.
We’re trying to get a few more that may branch out of their intended audiences. ”
Greco stated that he foresees university presses attempting to branch into more mainstream readership with trade books and textbooks, despite competition with large publishing houses like Penguin and Simon & Schuster.
“What they’re looking for is something that will have a lot of sales, revenue and backlist sales,” said Greco.
The most recent list launched by the Fordham press is Polis, a series in urban studies. The first two books look at the creation of safe spaces in South America and the abandoned imitation-European villages built in China. Nachbaur said the list grew out of a desire for the press to publish books from a more global perspective.
“We just launched it, and I’m excited about it,” said Nachbaur. “It also ties in because Fordham has an urban studies program here, so I think it’s another way to mirror the mission of the university.”